2009 California Welfare and Institutions Code - Section 1730-1742 :: Article 3. Commitments To Youth Authority

1730.  (a) No person may be committed to the Authority until the
Authority has certified in writing to the Governor that it has
approved or established places of preliminary detention and places
for examination and study of persons committed, and has other
facilities and personnel sufficient for the proper discharge of its
duties and functions.
   (b) Before certification to the Governor as provided in subsection
(a), a court shall, upon conviction of a person under 21 years of
age at the time of his apprehension, deal with him without regard to
the provisions of this chapter.

1731.  (a) When in any criminal proceeding in a court of this State
a person has been convicted of a public offense and the person was a
minor when he or she committed the offense, the court shall determine
whether the person was less than 21 years of age at the time of the
apprehension from which the criminal proceeding resulted. Proceedings
in a juvenile court in respect to a juvenile are not criminal
proceedings as that phrase is used in this chapter.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court shall
have the power to order an adult convicted of a public offense in a
court of criminal jurisdiction to be committed to the Youth
Authority. This subdivision shall not apply to a transfer pursuant to
Section 1731.5.

1731.5.  (a) After certification to the Governor as provided in this
article, a court may commit to the Division of Juvenile Facilities
any person who meets all of the following:
   (1) Is convicted of an offense described in subdivision (b) of
Section 707 or subdivision (c) of Section 290.008 of the Penal Code.
   (2) Is found to be less than 21 years of age at the time of
apprehension.
   (3) Is not sentenced to death, imprisonment for life, with or
without the possibility of parole, whether or not pursuant to Section
190 of the Penal Code, imprisonment for 90 days or less, or the
payment of a fine, or after having been directed to pay a fine,
defaults in the payment thereof, and is subject to imprisonment for
more than 90 days under the judgment.
   (4) Is not granted probation, or was granted probation and that
probation is revoked and terminated.
   (b) The Division of Juvenile Facilities shall accept a person
committed to it pursuant to this article if it believes that the
person can be materially benefitted by its reformatory and
educational discipline, and if it has adequate facilities to provide
that care.
   (c) Any person under 18 years of age who is not committed to the
division pursuant to this section may be transferred to the authority
by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
with the approval of the Chief Deputy Secretary for the Division of
Juvenile Justice. In sentencing a person under 18 years of age, the
court may order that the person shall be transferred to the custody
of the Division of Juvenile Facilities pursuant to this subdivision.
If the court makes this order and the division fails to accept
custody of the person, the person shall be returned to court for
resentencing. The transfer shall be solely for the purposes of
housing the inmate, allowing participation in the programs available
at the institution by the inmate, and allowing division parole
supervision of the inmate, who, in all other aspects shall be deemed
to be committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
and shall remain subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole
Hearings. Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 2900 of the
Penal Code, the secretary, with the concurrence of the chief deputy
secretary, may designate a facility under the jurisdiction of the
chief deputy secretary as a place of reception for any person
described in this subdivision.
   The chief deputy secretary shall have the same powers with respect
to an inmate transferred pursuant to this subdivision as if the
inmate had been committed or transferred to the Division of Juvenile
Facilities either under the Arnold-Kennick Juvenile Court Law or
subdivision (a).
   The duration of the transfer shall extend until any of the
following occurs:
   (1) The chief deputy secretary orders the inmate returned to the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
   (2) The inmate is ordered discharged by the Board of Parole
Hearings.
   (3) The inmate reaches 18 years of age. However, if the inmate's
period of incarceration would be completed on or before the inmate's
21st birthday, the chief deputy secretary may continue to house the
inmate until the period of incarceration is completed.

1731.6.  (a) In any county in which there is in effect a contract
made pursuant to Section 1752.1, if a court has determined that a
person comes within the provisions of Section 1731.5 and concludes
that a proper disposition of the case requires such observation and
diagnosis as can be made at a diagnostic and treatment center of the
Youth Authority, the court may continue the hearing and order that
such person be placed temporarily in such a center for a period not
to exceed 90 days, with the further provision in such order that the
Director of the Youth Authority report to the court its diagnosis and
recommendations concerning the person within the 90-day period.
   (b) The Director of the Youth Authority shall, within the 90 days,
cause the person to be observed and examined and shall forward to
the court his diagnosis and recommendation concerning such person's
future care, supervision, and treatment.
   (c) The Youth Authority shall accept such person if it believes
that the person can be materially benefited by such diagnostic and
treatment services and if the Director of the Youth Authority
certifies that staff and institutions are available. No such person
shall be transported to any facility under the jurisdiction of the
Youth Authority until the director has notified the referring court
of the place to which such person is to be transported and the time
at which he can be received.
   (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (c), the Youth
Authority shall accept without cost to the county any persons
remanded pursuant to Section 707.2.
   (e) The sheriff of the county in which an order is made placing a
person in a diagnostic and treatment center pursuant to this section,
or any other peace officer designated by the court, shall execute
the order placing such person in the center or returning him
therefrom to the court. The expense of such sheriff or other peace
officer incurred in executing such order is a charge upon the county
in which the court is situated.

1731.8.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 60 days
of the commitment of a ward to the Department of the Youth Authority,
the department shall set an initial parole consideration date for
the ward and shall notify the probation department and the committing
juvenile court of that date. The department shall use the category
offense guidelines contained in Sections 4951 to 4957, inclusive, of,
and the deviation guidelines contained in subdivision (i) of Section
4945 of, Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, that were
in effect on January 1, 2003, in setting an initial parole
consideration date.

1732.  No person convicted of violating Section 261, 262, or 264.1,
subdivision (b) of Section 288, Section 289, or of sodomy or oral
copulation by force, violence, duress, menace or threat of great
bodily harm as provided in Section 286 or 288a of the Penal Code
committed when that person was 18 years of age who has previously
been convicted of any such felony shall be committed to the Youth
Authority. This section does not prohibit the adjournment of criminal
proceedings pursuant to Division 3 (commencing with Section 3000) or
Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.

1732.5.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person
convicted of murder, rape or any other serious felony, as defined in
Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code, committed when he or she was 18
years of age or older shall be committed to Youth Authority.
   The provisions of this section shall not be amended by the
Legislature except by statute passed in each house by rollcall vote
entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring, or
by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the
electors.

1732.6.  (a) No minor shall be committed to the Youth Authority when
he or she is convicted in a criminal action for an offense described
in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section
1192.7 of the Penal Code and is sentenced to incarceration for life,
an indeterminate period to life, or a determinate period of years
such that the maximum number of years of potential confinement when
added to the minor's age would exceed 25 years. Except as specified
in subdivision (b), in all other cases in which the minor has been
convicted in a criminal action, the court shall retain discretion to
sentence the minor to the Department of Corrections or to commit the
minor to the Youth Authority.
   (b) No minor shall be committed to the Youth Authority when he or
she is convicted in a criminal action for:
   (1) An offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 602, or
   (2) An offense described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of
subdivision (d) of Section 707, if the circumstances enumerated in
those paragraphs are found to be true by the trier of fact.
   (3) An offense described in subdivision (b) of Section 707, if the
minor had attained the age of 16 years of age or older at the time
of commission of the offense.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person under
the age of 16 years shall be housed in any facility under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections.

1732.7.  A person who is convicted of a public offense for which the
maximum penalty provided by law is imprisonment for not more than 90
days, and who is found to be less than 21 years of age at the time
of his apprehension, may be committed to the Authority only if it is
brought to the court's knowledge that the person has been previously
convicted of a public offense or has been a ward of the juvenile
court by reason of a public offense and the court is satisfied that
society will best be protected by commitment to the Authority.

1732.8.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law and subject to the
provisions of this section, the Director of the Youth Authority may
transfer to and cause to be confined within the custody of the
Director of Corrections any person 18 years of age or older who is
subject to the custody, control, and discipline of the Department of
the Youth Authority and who is scheduled to be returned, or has been
returned, to the Department of the Youth Authority from the
Department of Corrections after serving a sentence imposed pursuant
to Section 1170 of the Penal Code for a felony that was committed
while he or she was in the custody of the Department of the Youth
Authority.
   (b) No person shall be transferred pursuant to this section until
and unless the person voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly
executes a written consent to the transfer, which shall be
irrevocable.
   (c) Prior to being returned to the Youth Authority, a person in
the custody of the Department of Corrections who is scheduled to be
returned to the Department of the Youth Authority shall meet
personally with a Youth Authority parole agent or other appropriate
Department of the Youth Authority staff member. The parole agent or
staff member shall explain, using language clearly understandable to
the person, all of the following matters:
   (1) What will be expected from the person when he or she returns
to a Youth Authority institution in terms of cooperative daily living
conduct and participation in applicable counseling, academic,
vocational, work experience, or specialized programming.
   (2) The conditions of parole applicable to the person, and how
those conditions will be monitored and enforced while the person is
in the custody of the Youth Authority.
   (3) The person's right under this section to voluntarily and
irrevocably consent to continue to be housed in an institution under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections instead of being
returned to the Youth Authority.
   (d) A person who has been returned to the Youth Authority after
serving a sentence described in subdivision (a) may be transferred to
the custody of the Department of Corrections if the person consents
to the transfer after having been provided with the explanations
described in subdivision (c).
   (e) If a Youth Authority person consents to being housed in an
institution under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections
pursuant to this section, he or she shall be subject to the general
rules and regulations of the Department of Corrections. The Youth
Authority Board shall continue to determine the person's eligibility
for parole at the same intervals, in the same manner, and under the
same standards and criteria that would be applicable if the person
were confined in the Department of the Youth Authority. However, the
board shall not order or recommend any treatment, education, or other
programming that is unavailable in the institution where the person
is housed, and shall not deny parole to a person housed in the
institution based solely on the person's failure to participate in
programs unavailable to the person.
   (f) Any person housed in an institution under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Corrections pursuant to this section who has not
attained a high school diploma or its equivalent shall participate in
educational or vocational programs, to the extent the appropriate
programs are available.
   (g) Upon notification by the Director of Corrections that the
person should be no longer be housed in an institution under its
jurisdiction, the Department of the Youth Authority shall immediately
send for, take, and receive the person back into an institution
under its jurisdiction.

1733.  Nothing in this chapter prevents a court from revoking or
suspending any license issued to the defendant under any law of this
State where such revocation or suspension is otherwise provided for.

1735.  If the court sentences a person under 21 years of age at the
time of his apprehension to the payment of a fine and the fine is not
paid, the court may either remit the fine in whole or in part, or
commit him to confinement for a length of time permitted by the
statutes relating to imprisonment for failure to pay fines. But such
confinement may be only in a place approved by the Authority.

1736.  The juvenile court may in its discretion commit persons
subject to its jurisdiction to the authority, and the authority may
in its discretion accept such commitments.

1737.  When a person has been committed to the custody of the
authority, if it is deemed warranted by a diagnostic study and
recommendation approved by the director, the judge who ordered the
commitment or, if the judge is not available, the presiding judge of
the court, within 120 days of the date of commitment on his or her
own motion, or the court, at any time thereafter upon recommendation
of the director, may recall the commitment previously ordered and
resentence the person as if he or she had not previously been
sentenced. The time served while in custody of the authority shall be
credited toward the term of any person resentenced pursuant to this
section.
   As used in this section, "time served while in custody of the
authority" means the period of time during which the person was
physically confined in a state institution by order of the Department
of the Youth Authority or the Youth Authority Board.

1737.1.  Whenever any person who has been convicted of a public
offense in adult court and committed to and accepted by the
Department of the Youth Authority appears to be an improper person to
be retained by the department, or to be so incorrigible or so
incapable of reformation under the discipline of the department as to
render his or her detention detrimental to the interests of the
department and the other persons committed thereto, the department
may order the return of that person to the committing court. The
court may then commit the person to a state prison or sentence him or
her to a county jail as provided by law for punishment of the
offense of which he or she was convicted. The maximum term of
imprisonment for a person committed to a state prison under this
section shall be a period equal to the maximum term prescribed by law
for the offense of which he or she was convicted less the period
during which he or she was under the control of the department. This
section shall not apply to commitments from juvenile court.
   As used in this section "period during which he or she was under
the control of the department" means the period of time during which
he or she was physically confined in a state institution by order of
the department or the Youth Authority Board.

1737.5.  A commitment to the Authority is a judgment within the
meaning of Chapter 1 of Title 8 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, and is
appealable.

1738.  When the court commits a person to the authority the court
may order him conveyed to some place of detention approved or
established by the authority or may direct that he be left at liberty
until otherwise ordered by the authority under such conditions as in
the court's opinion will insure his submission to any orders which
the authority may issue. No such person shall be transported to any
facility under the jurisdiction of the Youth Authority until the
director has notified the sheriff of the county of the committing
court of the place to which said person is to be transported and the
time at which he can be received.

1739.  (a) The right of a person who has been convicted of a public
offense to a new trial or to an appeal from the judgment of
conviction shall not be affected by anything in this chapter.
   (b) When a person who has been convicted and committed to the
Authority appeals from the conviction, the execution of the
commitment to the Authority shall not be stayed by the taking of the
appeal except as provided in subsection (c). The person so committed
shall remain subject to the control of the Authority, until final
disposition of the appeal.
   (c) A person convicted and committed to the Authority may be
admitted to bail under the provisions of Section 1272 of the Penal
Code, or in the discretion of the court, may be left at liberty,
under such conditions as in the court's opinion will insure his
cooperation in reasonable expedition of the appellate proceedings and
his submission to the control of the Authority at the proper time.

1740.  When a court commits a person to the Authority such court
shall at once forward to the Authority a certified copy of the order
of commitment.

1741.  The judge before whom the person was tried and committed, the
district attorney or other official who conducted the prosecution,
and the probation officer of the county, shall obtain and with the
order of commitment furnish to the authority, in writing, all
information that can be given in regard to the career, habits, degree
of education, age, nationality, parentage and previous occupations
of such person, together with a statement to the best of their
knowledge as to whether such person was industrious, and of good
character, the nature of his associates and his disposition.
   The reports required by this section shall be made upon forms
furnished by the authority or according to an outline furnished by
it.
   When a person has been committed to the authority, the court and
the prosecuting and police authorities and other public officials
shall make available to the authority all pertinent data in their
possession in respect to the case.

1742.  When the juvenile court commits to the Youth Authority a
person identified as an individual with exceptional needs, as defined
by Section 56026 of the Education Code, the juvenile court, subject
to the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 727 and subdivision
(b) of Section 737, shall not order the juvenile conveyed to the
physical custody of the Youth Authority until the juvenile's
individualized education program previously developed pursuant to
Article 3 (commencing with Section 56340) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code for the individual with
exceptional needs, has been furnished to the Department of the Youth
Authority.
   To facilitate this process the juvenile court shall assure that
the probation officer communicates with appropriate staff at the
juvenile court school, county office of education, or special
education local planning area.